This story starts with a hall conversation, some laughs, and stories about emails and submissions full of hope…
This blog entry is different because it speaks from the perspective of a Griffith graduate and current staff member associated with EPS, GIER, and the Indigenous unit. The Australian Association for Research in Education (AARE) conference has culminated and I wanted to write about the journey of entering the Australian Association for Research in Education’s 2024 awards competition. Las week, the conference was capped by some award ceremonies in which two of the awards came home to Griffith.
For those who aren’t familiar with the association, the AARE is a national professional association that was first established in 1970. It supports educational researchers from various sectors, including universities, government bodies, early childhood education, schools, colleges, training organisations, and private research agencies. The AARE aims to advance scholarly inquiry into education, enhance educational research quality, and promote research’s positive impact on educational policy and practice.
The AARE annual awards include:
- Ray Debus Award for Doctoral Research in Education
- Betty Watts Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Research Award
- Early Career Researcher Award
- Postgraduate Student Researcher Award
- Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander Postgraduate Student Researcher Award
- Postgraduate Student / Early Career Researcher Poster Award
Doctoral students are eligible for four of these six categories.
This year, 2 of the 6 student-focussed awards were given to Griffith students or graduates: A commendation for the best dissertation and the Postgraduate Student Researcher Award. Despite Griffith catering to high numbers of first-generation university students and having high rates of low-income students, not being part of the Go8 group, and ranking below other universities in Australia—which affects funding—we still managed to take one-third of the awards from the biggest education conference in Australia.
The Ray Debus Award is highly competitive, with universities nominating only one doctoral graduate whose thesis represents the best in educational research. The letter that I received as a nominee said, “The field in 2024 was very strong and the selection committee has commented on the high quality of the applicants”. Selection is based on examiner reports, research outputs, and the demonstrated impact of the research. Nominees were identified as the authors of the best doctoral dissertations from each university. This year was the first time that any Griffith student seems to have been shortlisted or commended in this category.
In the Postgraduate Student Researcher Award, Carolyn received comments regarding her ‘meticulous and systematic approach’ and developed a ‘convincing argument with actionable recommendations’. Another panel member noted the paper was ‘well crafted’ and demonstrated an ‘innovative methodological application …to examine a pressing issue’. While another noted that the submission makes ‘a worthy contribution to the literature.
Griffith doctoral students managed to position ourselves among the best doctoral graduates and candidates in Australia, showing the high-quality research we contribute to the field. This is a notable achievement, considering the competitive nature of the awards and the uneven field we play in.
Personally, I am from a working-class family, and I am the first in my family to attend university. English is not my first language. To be eligible for the award, and to be commended as the author of one of the top three theses produced in Australia, gives me tremendous joy. I wonder if the success that both Carolyn and I have experienced might be due – in part – to the support given by our supervisors. Perhaps a benefit of undertaking doctoral research at a smaller university is that we receive a more personalised supervision experience, including additional face-to-face contact time with our supervisors. Students attached to larger universities may not receive as much time with their supervisors as we do.
Today, I want to express how proud I am to be part of Griffith University. The support I’ve received, the welcoming atmosphere, the positive feedback, and the multiple awards I’ve received for the high quality of my PhD project are evidence that even a less well-known university, less resourced university can teach students who are just as- and even more- capable as those from the larger, well-known institutions.
I still remember that hall conversation, in which we- Carolyn and I- exchanged phone numbers, talked about work, research, and academics. I am happy about how it ended… in text messages, happiness, joy, and hugs congratulating our peer, who as us, had hopes placed in a submission that could translate into a great achievement for us and for our school.